Source: COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
DETERMINANTS OF RANGELAND RECOVERY AFTER EXTREME DROUGHT: FOUNDATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF DROUGHT LEGACIES AND CLIMATE TO INFORM MANAGEMENT
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1027649
Grant No.
2022-67019-36367
Cumulative Award Amt.
$649,672.00
Proposal No.
2021-09743
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jan 1, 2022
Project End Date
Dec 31, 2026
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[A1451]- Renewable Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment: Agroecosystem Management
Recipient Organization
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
FORT COLLINS,CO 80523
Performing Department
Biology
Non Technical Summary
Drought reduces forage and livestock production across some portion of rangelands every year in the US, and more extreme droughts, thosethat last for several years, are expected to become more common in the future. Because recovery of rangelandsafter extreme drought may require many years, understanding what determines how rapidly rangelands recover after drought is necessary to better manage livestock grazing during the recovery period. Our research is focused on understanding drought recovery in the dry grasslands of the central US.To increase our understanding, we will conduct a Drought Recovery Experiment in which we study how alterations in ecosystems during drought affect their recovery after drought. We will also vary rainfall in the years after drought to determine how the climate during recovery affects recovery.Our research meets an important USDAgoal of conducting research that focuses on improvement of ecosystem health and productivity in managed systems that are currently under stress. Overall, we expect to provide new knowledge that isnecessary to manage for healthy US rangelands in the future, particularly in response to more frequent and extremedrought.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
60%
Applied
40%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
12101201070100%
Knowledge Area
121 - Management of Range Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0120 - Land;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
Our research is focused on post-drought recovery in the semi-arid shortgrass steppe and is designed to provide the foundational knowledge necessary to sustainably manage for healthy US rangelands in the future. We will conduct a Drought Recovery Experiment, building on an existing 4-yr extreme drought study, to quantify the effects of drought legacies - alterations in ecosystems during drought that affect functioning after drought - on rangeland recovery. Our major goals are: 1) determine how drought legacies affect recovery of forage productivity, carbon cycle processes, and other ecosystem services; 2) assess how precipitation amount in the years after drought affects recovery, and 3) examine how drought legacies and precipitation amounts influence management decisions to return livestock to these grasslands.
Project Methods
We will conduct a Drought Recovery Experiment, building on an existing 4-yr extreme drought study, to quantify the effects of drought legacies - alterations in ecosystems during drought that affects functioning after drought - on rangeland recovery. This is a field experiment which will entail altering post-drought rainfall amounts to assess the nature and pace of rangeland recovery after extreme drought.

Progress 01/01/24 to 12/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences are other research scientists, particularly USDA ARS scientists, and semi-arid rangeland managers. Changes/Problems:We are still a year behind the original schedule (due to COVID) but otherwise, there are no major problems. We will request a no-cost extension after this year. No other changes have been made to our original plans. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student will make this project a key part of their dissertation. He has mentored three undergraduates as well. He has also presented the results of the research at two scientific conferences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Research presentations have been made at two scientific conferences. The USDA ARS scientists have been kept apprised of the results through joint lab meetings. The USDA scientists meet with local ranchers annually. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will collect year 3 data for the planned experiment and write and submit two research papers.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have now completed two years of the drought recovery experiment. A graduate student and two undergrads worked on the project. All data were collected as planned. We are still in the process of processing and analyzing the 2023/4 data. Clear differences in productivity and soil N are evident. We are working on preparing two manuscripts based on the first year of recovery data. Our research has been presented at two scientific conferences.

Publications


    Progress 01/01/23 to 12/31/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Our target audiences are other research scientists and rangeland managers. Changes/Problems:We are a year behind schedule (due to COVID) but otherwise, there are no major problems. No changes have been made either. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student will make this project a key part of their dissertation. He has mentored an undergraduate as well. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will collect year 2 data for the planned experiment. And perhaps publish a paper on a side project conducted by the undergraduate.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? We began the first year of the drought recovery experiment in 2023. A graduate student and undergrad worked on the project. All data were collected as planned. We are still in the process of processing and analyzing the 2023 data. Clear differences in productivity and soil N are evident. We also wrote a review paper that included a section on drought recovery.

    Publications

    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Knapp, A.K., K.V. Condon, C.C. Folks, M.A. Sturchio, R.J. Griffin-Nolan, S.A. Kannenberg, A.S. Gill, O.L. Hajek, J. A. Siggers and M.D. Smith. 2024. Field experiments have enhanced our understanding of drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems  but where do we go from here? Functional Ecology 38:7697.


    Progress 01/01/22 to 12/31/22

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Our target audiences are other research scientists and rangeland managers. Changes/Problems:Except for starting the project later than anticipated (due to COVID), there should be no other changes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student has been preparing to begin the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The first growing season of our planned treatments and measurements will beginin May 2023. We plan to make the measurements as outlined in our proposal.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? We had to delay the project start due to COVID-19. This last year, we collected pretreatment data and we will beginthe planned experimental treatments this spring (2023). We have recruited students and we are preparing for field work to begin.

    Publications